Genesis 3-5

Contemporary English Version

The First Sin

3 ^(A) The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

² The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, ³ except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”

⁴ “No, you won't!” the snake replied. ⁵ “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”

⁶ The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. ⁷ At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

⁸ Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.

Sin Brings a Curse

⁹ The Lord God called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”

¹¹ “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?”

¹² “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”

^13 (B) The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the snake:

¹⁶ Then the Lord God said to the woman,

^17 (D) The Lord said to the man,

²⁰ The man Adam^[a] named his wife Eve^[b] because she would become the mother of all who live.

²¹ Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.

^22 (E) The Lord said, “They now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. ²⁴ Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.

Cain Murders Abel

4 Adam^[c] and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I'll name him Cain because I got^[d] him with the help of the Lord.” ² Later she had another son and named him Abel.

Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. ³ One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the Lord, ^4 (F) and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, ⁵ but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.

⁶ The Lord said to Cain:

What's wrong with you? Why do you look so angry? ⁷ If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.^[e] But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it!

^8 (G) Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go for a walk.”^[f] And when they were out in a field, Cain attacked and killed him.

⁹ Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”

“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”

^10 (H) Then the Lord said:

Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you. ¹¹ And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm it again. ¹² When you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.

¹³ “This punishment is too hard!” Cain said. ¹⁴ “You're making me leave my home and live far from you.^[g] I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me.”

¹⁵ “No!”^[h] the Lord answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. ¹⁶ But Cain had to go far from the Lord and live in the Land of Wandering,^[i] which is east of Eden.

More and More People

¹⁷ Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. ¹⁸ Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.

¹⁹ Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. ^20-21 Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.

²² Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.

²³ One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him. ²⁴ Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”

²⁵ Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, “God has given^[j] us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain.” ²⁶ Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh.

About this time people started worshiping the Lord.^[k]

Descendants of Adam

5 ^1-2 (I) God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. The following is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man:

^3-4 When Adam was 130, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth. Adam had more children ⁵ and died at the age of 930.

⁶ When Seth was 105, he had a son named Enosh. ⁷ Seth had more children ⁸ and died at the age of 912.

⁹ When Enosh was 90, he had a son named Kenan. ¹⁰ Enosh had more children ¹¹ and died at the age of 905.

¹² When Kenan was 70, he had a son named Mahalalel. ¹³ Kenan had more children ¹⁴ and died at the age of 910.

¹⁵ When Mahalalel was 65, he had a son named Jared. ¹⁶ Mahalalel had more children ¹⁷ and died at the age of 895.

¹⁸ When Jared was 162, he had a son named Enoch. ¹⁹ Jared had more children ²⁰ and died at the age of 962.

²¹ When Enoch was 65, he had a son named Methuselah, ²² and during the next 300 years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, ^23-24 (J) and God took him away at the age of 365.

²⁵ When Methuselah was 187, he had a son named Lamech. ²⁶ Methuselah had more children ²⁷ and died at the age of 969.

²⁸ When Lamech was one 182, he had a son. ²⁹ Lamech said, “I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort,^[l] as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the Lord has put under a curse.” ³⁰ Lamech had more children ³¹ and died at the age of 777.

³² After Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.